


A Speciosam Mors

by TheObscure



Category: The Evil Within (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Beacon Mental Hospital, Dreams, F/M, Sebastian doesnt kill Stefano, Union
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-09
Updated: 2018-05-13
Packaged: 2019-05-04 14:26:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 9,377
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14594979
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheObscure/pseuds/TheObscure
Summary: After being involved in a car crash, you wake up in a strange world you don't recognise or know anybody. Everybody seems to be acting strangely towards you, except for a man who tells you he's searching for his daughter. As you try to work out how to get back to your own world, you meet a man who offers to keep you safe from the strange beings in the world and help you back to your own world.I don't own the rights to The Evil Within Franchise!





	1. Chapter 1

Your eyes opened slowly, the bright light caused you to groan as a stabbing pain shot into your temples- your legs, arms and back ached and a shooting pain resonated in your ribs. Turning your head to look to your sides caused your neck to ache, but when you saw empty beds, turned over and looking abandoned, you sat up slowly and examined the room. Yours was the only bed not turned over and you noticed you were the only person there, though somewhere in the distance you could hear movement.

"H-hello?" You called, frowning at the ache in your sore throat when you spoke. It was dry and hurt to swallow, but you couldn't see any water. When you heard a door slam in the distance, you craned your neck forwards to look down a hallway, gasping when you saw a nurse walking away from you. "E-excuse me, Nurse? Can you help me?" When the nurse stopped and turned to look into the room, you moved back when she started to walk towards you. She stopped at the foot of your bed and smiled sweetly to you, bringing a sense of comfort to you.

"Yes, how may I help you?" She asked in a soft voice, you looked around you, wondering why she wasn't asking what had happened to the room.

"Where am I? No, where is everyone?" You asked, she examined the room over the rim of her glasses before she turned back to look at you with the same smile on her face.

"You had an accident and were brought in by a group of paramedics. We have a few patients in right now, but we put you in a quiet room to recover. Now, can I get you some water?" She told you, walking to the other side of the room to fill a glass with water. When she returned and handed you the drink, you drank it almost in one go, breathing deeply as you put the glass back on the table beside you. When you opened your mouth to speak again, the nurse bet you to it. "Now, if you need anything else, please don't hesitate to ask me." With that, she walked away. What did she mean? 'A few patients?' Wasn't this a hospital? And what accident had you been in? Perhaps thats why you were so sore. With a groan, you swung your legs off the bed and stood, instantly falling to the floor again. With a deep sigh, you gripped the edges of the metal bed frame and pulled yourself back to your feet- this time steadying yourself on the walls. You looked down at yourself, seeing cuts and bruises along your feet, legs, hands and arms. How bad was this crash? Your head was pounding and you felt a little sick- you slowly staggered your way to the mirror across the room and gasped when you looked at your reflection; your lips were cut, there were grazes on your cheeks and forward and your right eye was bruised and slightly swollen. When you heard what sounded like a chainsaw, you raised an eyebrow and staggered to the door. What you saw made you gasp; standing at the end of the hallway was a large man wearing a mask, welding a chainsaw. When he saw you, he instantly started to run towards the room. In a panic, you closed the door, pushed a nearby bedside table in front of it and looked for a way out. You noticed another door on the other side of the wall, though it looked different to that of the door leading to the hall. When the sound of the chainsaw grew closer, you let out a small scream and ran to the other side of the room, falling over your own weak legs and hitting your head on the floor. You scrambled backwards when the chainsaw easily cut through the door and the table, the man kicked it open and stepped into the room. As he ran towards you, you managed to climb back to your feet and ran as best you could through the other door: however, the sound of the chainsaw stopped and, when you looked behind you, the door had disappeared.

"What..." You said to yourself, when you turned back around you looked down the long, dark corridor and sighed as you started to walk down it. Your legs ached and now the back of your head did from hitting it on the floor. As you got closer to the end of the hall, you heard the sound of smashing glass and when you stopped you saw a smashed mirror hanging on the wall with a bright light coming from it. As you walked closer to it, you took another look around you before putting one hand towards the mirror, soon becoming covered by the bright light. ~~~ "You're being ridiculous! Why are you acting so crazy?" Brad shouted at you as you marched about the apartment, packing items of clothing into an old gym back, pushing past him to collect your phone, a charging cable and your laptop. "Can we just talk about this?" With an annoyed groan, you picked up your car keys from the table and turned to look at him through narrowed eyes. "No! We can't 'Just talk about this'. Never talk to me again!" You shouted back, ignoring what he said to you as you opened the door and slammed it again. You drove away as soon as you turned the key in the ignition, feeling your eyes welling up with tears the further away you got from the apartment. You had come home that night from work to find Brad, your fiance, having sex with another woman on the couch. When he saw you, he panicked and tried to cover himself and the woman with the nearby throw, telling you he didn't think you would be back yet. When you came to a crossroad, the barrier stopped just in front of your car as the train passed and you looked at your hands gripping the steering wheel and at the ring on your finger. You couldn't help but burst into tears now, your head pressed against the wheel and your eyes closed as you cried-however a car honked it's horn behind you. You raised your head and saw the train was still passing, glancing into the mirror you noticed a woman with long black hair in the car behind you, honking the horn again. You shook your head and turned to look forward, the train had passed and what you saw caused you to arch an eyebrow. Standing across the road you saw a tall, slim man with purple hair and a purple suit holding a camera to his eye-just then, something slammed into the side of your car, sending you flying down the road as your car tumbled and span numerous times. ~~~ When you opened your eyes again, you looked around the room you were now in, it looked like an old hotel lobby. You walked around for a while, finding an old torch, a small pistol and some bullets. You struggled to load the gun, remove the safety and practised aiming it forward- you could hear moans, groaning and a loud scraping sound from the street outside and something that sounded like laughter. With a raised eyebrow, you opened the door and looked outside, not noticing anybody on the street. After taking a deep breath, you stepped out onto the street and started to walk forward a little bit, nervously clutching the gun to your side. You heard the sound of laughter again, causing you to turn around and pick up the pace a little. When you turned back around, you screamed loudly when what looked like a man with glowing red eyes leapt on you, pinning you to the ground as it tried to bite you. As you restrained it, you brought the gun upwards and shot its arm, another bullet hit it in the forehead, sending it falling back onto the pavement. You stood, wiped the blood from your face and spat out a little, you noticed green liquid leaking from the Dead body, but you didnt know what it was. You quickly started to walk away, hoping the sound of the two bullets didn't attract anymore of those things. When you ran around a corner, you quickly stopped when you saw an enormous creature with a angle grinder for a hand standing down the street from you-it's red eyes glowed when it saw you and a loud laughter filled the air as it started to run towards you. You were glued to the floor in terror, your legs wouldn't move- when a blue mist formed around you and two arms wrapped around your waist, you screamed when you were quickly pulled back. The street around you disappeared, turning to black and quick silver flashes with blue whisps floating and dissappearing into the darkness. When you stopped, your head started to spin and you began to fall to the floor, however a pair of hands caught you. "Woah! I have you, don't worry." A man said to you in a foreign accent-one that sounded Italian. Your head continued to spin, you felt sick and your eyesight was blurred. What just happened? How did you leave the street and get here so quick? Where even were you? You lifted your eyes a little to look at who was carrying you, however the darkness hid his face. When you were gently laid down on a cool leather couch, you gripped the edges firmly and groaned. "Rest. Just rest now, you're safe." You wanted to stand and see who had saved you, however when your eyes grew heavier, you couldn't help but let them close.


	2. Chapter 2

The sounds of screams filled your ears, along with the odd sound of what sounded like a woman moaning in pleasure. Your eyes slowly opened and as soon as they did, a bright flash triggered, causing you to groan. You woke with a gasp, looking around the room you saw you were in a dark, dimly lit room with red walls, a tiled floor and long, scarlet curtains. The noises had stopped and there was no sign of a flashing object in the room- your head felt heavy and your body still ached, though not as much. A set of double doors opened at the end of the room, revealing the outline of a tall, slender figure as it walked closer to you. 

"Ah, you're awake! Here, I made you some hot sweet tea. It's good for shock." The man with the Italian accent told you, he handed you a China cup with a saucer before kneeling in front of the couch. "How do you feel?" You took a drink from the tea, humming as it warmed your chest, before you glanced up. You went a wide eyed and your lips parted when you saw the man in front of you- he had short black hair with a sweeping black fringe that covered his left eye. The right eye was a bright, piercing ice blue that seemed to bear into your sole. His skin had a few small wrinkles and you noticed some scar tissue beneath the fringe. He was wearing a purple suit with a white shirt and red neck tie. He smiled up to you and tapped your knee a little. "You seem to be in a bad way. Tell me, how did you get here?" You shrugged and took another drink from the tea. The man nodded, stood and looked down at you with a smile as he bowed. "Where are my manners? Stefano Valentini, at your service." With a smile, you shook the man's hand and laughed a little when he turned it and kissed the back of it.

"(name). How... did I get here? The last thing I remember was being on a street... there was a... creature running towards me. It had an angle grinder for a hand!" You told him, his eyes widened as you spoke, however when he sat beside you on the couch, he nodded and remained silent. You put down the cup and hid your head in your hands, feeling yourself growing more and more exhausted despite just waking up from what seemed to be a deep sleep. When you felt a hand gently caress your back, you jumped a little and turned to look at the man sitting next to you- Stefano. He smiled calmly to you again, causing you to smile back a little. "There are many strange things here, some that I'm not sure I can explain. You're not from here...are you?" He asked, you raised an eyebrow when you heard this: which caused him to laugh and nod. "I thought as much. Well," Stefano slapped both gloved hands on his thighs and stood from the couch, offering you a hand when he was stood. You took it with a small smile and followed him as he lead you out of the room, out onto a large hallway. You heard the familiar noise of the woman moaning once again and instantly looked around you- though Stefano didn't seem to react. "Can you hear that?" You asked him, he turned to look at you, raised one eyebrow and cocked his head to the side a little as he looked at you with the solitary piercing stare. You simply shook your head. "Never mind. My hearing is probably a little off. Hey... do you mind if I ask you some questions?" "Well, of course not! Ask me whatever you like." Stafano replied as you both started to climb the stairs, you didn't know where he was leading you, but you followed him anyway. You seemed to be in an old, run down apartment block with the same red curtains hanging from the ceiling. After climbing another flight of stairs, Stefano finally pushed open a door and motioned for you to enter first, which you did with a smile of thanks. The room was brightly lit by many candles and the smell of wax, smoke and roses hung heavily in the air- though there was a bitter, sickly smell hitting the back of your throat. "Please, take a seat. Wine?" You simply smiled as you sat at a table in the centre of the otherwise almost empty room- a large bed stood against the back wall, with heavy purple curtains covering both sides and the front, some pictures hung on the walls and there was a small table holding a candle and a bunch of red roses in every corner. When Stefano placed a glass of wine in front of you, he took a drink from his own and smiled to you. "Now, what was it you wanted to ask me?" "Do you know what those... things are out there? And where am I?" You asked, hearing a deep sigh from Stefano as he took another drink, drummed his gloved fingertips on the wooden table and looked around the room for a brief moment before his gaze turned back to you. "I really have no idea. The last thing I remember, I was in my car. Then I... woke up in a hospital...but I was the only patient there, a Nurse was there, but no other patients. And a man with a chainsaw, who... chased me..." You drifted off your sentence and looked down at the glass of wine in front of you, taking a large drink before you set it down again. You could feel Stefano watching you, but you didn't lift your head to look at him. "I am afraid I cannot answer those questions, all I can tell you is where you are." He finally answered, you looked up at him and nodded. "You are in Union. We are a small town, filled with odd things and even odder people." You shook your head, leaning your elbows on the table as you brought your hands to your face. "No... that can't be right! I wasn't in 'Union'... I've never heard of it! I was in Krimson, not Union!" You told him, Stefano's eyebrow raised and a smile appeared on his face- which annoyed you a little, you were confused, afraid and alone and he found it amusing? When he noticed you looking at him with a frown, he reached his hands across the table and gently tapped the backs of your hands. "My apologies, it's just I myself lived in Krimson for some time. Many moons ago now, though." He told you, you nodded and smiled a little in understanding. "Now, as for this hospital, I'm not aware of a functioning hospital in Union. Like I said, we are a very small town. What did this Nurse say to you?" "Just that I had been in a car accident and paramedics brought me to the hotel. That was it." You informed him, he hummed in confusion, itched the back of his head and took a drink. You did the same and you both sat in silence for a moment. There was that sound again, you turned around to look for the source of it, but Stefano brought your attention back to him by refilling your glass. "You said you had lived in Krimson? But you're not from there... right?" "Is my accent so strong?" He joked, making you laugh as you took a drink. Stefano let out a small laugh before he shook his head. "No, I was born and raised in Florence. I didn't move to Krimson for many years, to carry on my career as an artist. I had been a photographer for many years, you see, but in the end, my styles... changed." He told you, you smiled when he picked up the small framed photo at the end of the table, admiring it a moment with a smile before he handed it to you- the photograph was of a woman's hand holding a red rose, blood was splattered on the petals of the flower and the woman's hand and arm. "Not to everybody's taste, I know..." You smiled and shook your head, causing Stefano's smile to grow. "I think its wonderful! Showing the bloody reality of beauty, right?" You asked, passing the photo back. Stefano smirked as he looked at it once again before setting it down. "Something like that." He whispered, making you smile as you took a drink. You sat with Stefano for a few hours, when you yawned and stretched, Stefano smiled and stood from the table, offering you a gloved hand. "Come, I'll show you to a free room." "Thank you for your hospitality, Stefano. I'll be out of your hair tomorrow, I promise." You replied as you stood, took his hand and followed him down the flight of stairs again, he stopped outside a white door, opened and let you inside. When you stepped inside, you smiled when you saw the large four poster bed with white net curtains. Stefano walked into the centre of the room, drew back the curtains to the bed and closed the larger curtains, blocking the street outside. "I hope this is okay for you. I'm sorry it's a little dusty, I wasn't expecting visitors." He told you with a kind smile, you smiled in return and nodded as you sat on the large bed, patting it with a smile. "Well, I will leave you to rest. Until the morning." With that, Stefano pressed another kiss to the back of your hand, smiled to you and left the room again. It took you a while to get to sleep that night, you could hear many strange noises coming from somewhere upstairs. However, when the noises finally stopped, you smiled when you heard the sound of a violin being played, though you didn't know who was playing it or where it was coming from. The sound relaxed you and, finally, you fell asleep


	3. Chapter 3

"(name)? (name), are you in there? Please, if you can hear me, answer me." You heard a familiar voice say, a woman's voice- it was a soft, kind and gentle voice that brought a smile to your face. You could hear sobbing. "Please, just open your eyes." "Come on, baby. Please. Pull through this." Another voice said, only this time it was a mans- it was familiar again, only this one didn't make you feel as happy to hear. You felt a large, rough hand over your own and you wanted to move it away, however your arms felt like lead and wouldn't budge. When the woman continued to sob, the man sighed. "Its okay, she'll pull through. I promise." When your eyes opened, you were in the same room you had fallen asleep in. You were alone in the room, no sign of a woman or man anywhere. You lifted your hand from the bed, looked at the back of it and shrugged before you climbed out of the bed, making it before you left the room. The building was silent-all except for the creaking of floorboards and doorframes. You looked around the hallway before climbing the stairs, looking for Stefano. You heard the noise of the woman moaning once again, causing you to raise an eyebrow as you continued to climb the stairs. The noise grew louder as you climber another flight of stairs- you noticed that on this floor the carpet was faded and torn and the curtains were also torn. It looked a lot messier and abandoned up here than the other floors- but you didn't know why. The noises grew louder and seemed to be moving around. You reached a red door with the number 217 written on a gold plaque, the noises were loud behind the door and you reached for the handle with a shaking hand. "Ah! You're awake." You heard Stefano exclaim behind you, making you jump as you turned around to look at him. He smiled to you and took your hand, kissing it once again before his eye travelled to the door. "Oh, good morning. I'm sorry if I'm being nosey, I just... heard odd noises." You told him, relieved when he turned to look back at you and the same sweet smile crossed his face again. With his hand still in yours, he led you away from the door and began to descend the stairs once again. "Do not worry. Feel free to explore wherever you like. I must tell you," Stefano stopped on the step in front of you, his hand still in yours and smiled up to you. "that floor is where I do most of my work, my studio, if you will. I like to keep the doors locked, so to not contaminate my creative space." You nodded and smiled, causing Stefano's smile to grow as he continued waking once again. ~~~ During the afternoon, Stefano told you he had errands to run and left you alone in the building. You knew not to go to the upper floor again, however you could still hear the noises. You wondered if Stefano had a wife or girlfriend up there. You were walking down the halls, admiring Stefano's photos. True, they were rather gruesome and a little odd but you found something nice and rather beautiful about them. You found it amazing how he managed to make the models so lifelike. When you heard a loud scream, you jumped and turned to look down the hallway, you didn't hear anything else after that, however you still felt uneasy. You walked to the end of the hall and up the stairs, hearing the sound of footsteps climbing the stairs, you walked out a little more to find Stefano walking up the stairs with his camera in his hand. He disappeared from sight without seeing you, up to the upper floors. It was only until the late evening when you carefully climbed the stairs, stopping at the foot of the stairs leading to Stefano's workspace, clearing your throat before you called up. "Stefano? Are you here?" You called, hearing footsteps on the wooden floorboards, followed by a door opening. The man soon appeared at the top of the stairs and smiled down to you, with a shrug, you held up two glasses of wine. "I thought we could... talk? Unless you're busy, of course." The smile on the man's face grew as he shook his head. "Of course not, I'm not too busy for you." He replied with a wink of his eye, making you smile as a blush rose to your cheeks. "One moment. Then, I wish to show you something." With that, he sped off back into the room, you heard banging as he seemed to be cleaning up a little. A moment later, he appeared at the top of the stairs again and held out a gloved hand to you. "Please, I wish to get your opinion on my new piece." With a smile and a nod, you climbed up to meet him and handed him a glass of wine. You couldn't help but notice Stefano's appearance- he was wearing his usual purple trousers and white shirt, however the sleeves were rolled to his elbows and he wasn't wearing his red neck tie, his buttons were undone to the middle of his beast bone and you could see a thin scar running down the centre and some thin black chest hair. With a quiet chuckle, he slid his hand into yours and led you into his dark room. You looked around the room through narrowed eyes, looking at the photos and long red leather cloves hanging on a string on the wall. Stefano took a drink from his wine, placed the glass down and clapped his hands. "Now! What do you think?" You stood beside him and looked up at the photos and smiled as you took a drink. The photos in front of you all showed the same thing from different angles and different lighting- a bouquet of roses in a large pot with mannequins arms at the bottom. "They're wonderful! Really artistic." You told him, receiving a large, beaming smile as a response. He leant over and pressed a long kiss to your cheek, making you smile as you placed your hand there when he turned to look back at his work. He inhaled through his nose and let out a deep sigh of pride as his arms folded across his chest. "Thank you. I must say, I think it might be some of my finest work!" He said to you, you smiled as you watched him, looking at his work with pride. "Now, how about that talk, hm?" With a smile and a nod, Stefano linked his arm in yours once again and led you back out of the room, closing the door behind him, before you both walked down the stairs. You and Stefano were sitting in the same room as the night before, he had just opened another bottle of wine. He had told you about his day and his inspiration for his current piece, when you heard the same female moaning as before. Stefano, clearly noticing you were distracted, smiled as he watched you. "Is something the matter?" You turned to look back at him again and shook your head before taking a drink. "Come now, you can tell me." "I know it's none of my business but... are you married? Or... do you have a girlfriend?" The question seemed to take Stefano by surprise: his eye widened slightly and he laughed before resting his chin on his hand as he looked at you. "Why would you ask?" He enquired, when you explained to him, the smirk fell from his face, however his eye remained wide. You instantly knew you he'd said something you shouldn't have and your stomach knotted. Something in Stefano's eye and expression changed and it made you feel uncomfortable and, to be honest, a little afraid of him. The look soon vanished, however, and was replaced with his usual smile. "I believe you have heard a resident of the apartment. She is rather loud, I suppose. I must have become accustomed to her noise. She doesn't leave he block much, however." You nodded and smiled a little as you took a drink, feeling a little foolish. "I heard a violin last night. Was that her? The lady upstairs?" You asked, causing Stefano to smile and shake his head as he took a drink. "That was you?" A wider smile, and a nod. "You were amazing! I never learnt an instrument. I would have loved to have learnt the guitar, but my Mother didn't like the idea." Stefano stood from the table, walked to a large closet in the corner and brought out the violin and a bow, making you smile as he tuned it. "Come, I will show you." Stefano said as he held out the instrument to you. You laughed as you took it and carefully followed his instructions. The noise the instrument made was horrendous and Stefano dramatically covered his ears, making you laugh as guy handed it back. "Don't give up that easily! Here," Stefano stood behind you and settled his hands on top of yours as he moved the instrument back into position. You could feel the heat radiating from him as his chest touched your back, his warm breath smelt of the sweet wine and was warm on your neck, causing the small hairs on your arms to stand on end and an electric bolt to shoot down your spine. "Now, press your finger here. That's right and move the bow this way." You did as Stefano said and smiled when ac normal sounding note came from the instrument. You turned to look at him over your shoulder and burst into a smile as you laughed. He smiled back to you and placed his hands on your waist. "There! You're getting the hang of it!" You smiled to him again and it was only then you noticed his hands on your waist. You looked down when his gloved fingers tightened on your hips. You looked back at him again and smiled when you saw a smirk on his face. He took the violin from your hands and gently placed it down, allowing his hands to settle on your waist once again and turn you to face him fully. A gloved hand brushed a strand of hair from your eyes and placed it behind your ear as his smile grew and he leant closer to you. When his lips touched yours, you noticed they were dry and cracked and his short stubble scratched your face a little. However, your eyes closed and your hands settled on his shoulders. One of Stefano's hands moved to the side of your head and his fingers combed through your hair, a deep moan came from his chest.


	4. Chapter 4

The same strange feeling settled on your hand, the skin touching your own was rough, warm and clammy.

"Just open your eyes." A male voice said, they sounded close to you but you couldn't sense them nearby. A deep sigh came from the person and a warm breath blew against your neck. "Wake up. Damn it! Wake up!" Just then, there were other voices but you couldn't tell what they were saying. The hand left yours and you could hear clammering, as though something table had fallen against a tiled floor.

"Ah, you were dreaming?" Stefano asked you, you blinked twice and turned to your right to find the man sitting beside you on the couch. A smile was on his face and his eyes looked calm. You groaned and brought a hand to your head as you looked around the room. "You blacked out. I thought I had done something wrong. It's not every day a woman just drops when you kiss her. Or is that a good thing?" You gasped and turned to look at him again, his smile changed to a smirk and he let out a chuckle.

"I... I'm sorry." You said, an embarrassed blush spread across your cheeks. Stefano hooked an arm around your waist and moved closer to you on the couch, he pressed a kiss to your cheek and, when you turned to look at him, his lips locked with yours again. Your eyes widened a little in surprise, but when Stefano say back and smiled to you, you smiled in return. "How shout some wine?" Stefano asked as he stood, you nodded and watched as he walked to the other side of the room, poured two glasses of wine and walked back to you. When he handed you a glass, you took it with a smile and took a drink. "I hope you don't mind me asking. But... is that a wedding ring?" You looked at Stefano when he asked you this before looking back at your hand again, sighing deeply as you shook your head. "Engagement. But... I called it off. I'm not actually sure why I'm still wearing this." You told him with a shrug, Stefano raised his eyebrow when you told him this as he waited for you to continue. With another deep sigh, you nodded and looked at the floor. "I... I saw my fiance having sex with another woman. In our apartment." Stefano gasped when you told him this and placed a gloved hand on your thigh- causing you to look at him. "How awful. I'm sorry." Was all he said, you smiled and shook your head before looking back at the ring on your finger. "I don't know how any man could betray a loved one like that. Especially not one as... beautiful as you." This caused your eyes to travel back to Stefano, who smirked to you again. You smiled back and placed your glass down as you climbed onto his lap. Stefano, much to your surprise, held your waist and smiled up to you. He pressed a kiss to the centre of your chest and smelt your perfume, exhaling deeply. "Stefano... can I ask you something?" You ask, your hands idly playing with the back of his hair. His eye met yours and he smiled as he nodded. You bit your lip, hesitating before you finally spoke. "Why do you cover your other eye?" The question caused Stefano to look away from you, his grip on your waist tightened and his pale cheeks flushed a dark pink. "Oh, I'm sorry...have I said something I shouldn't have?" He shook his head and looked at you again. With a deep sigh, Stefano took one of your hands, pressed a kiss to one of your knuckles and started to speak. "Before I moved to Krimson... I was a war photographer. One day, one... fateful day, I captured the exact moment one of my comrades was killed. Ripped apart by shrapnel, like paper. The same shrapnel embedded in my face and eye." You gasped when Stefano told you this, however when he hesitantly moved his fringe back, you fell silent as you looked at the violent red scar tissue and the black, sunken socket of his eye. He closed his eyes and you noticed a tear falling. "It was then I knew my art had to change. I knew my art had to reflect what I had seen. What I had experienced. I wanted to show the beautify in destruction, in death. I create masterpieces because... I myself can never be one." When Stefano said this, you leant forward and pressed a kiss to the scar tissue- you felt him jump a little and when you sat back, his eyes were open and he was looking at you in shock. With a smile, you ran your fingers gently over the scarred skin before moving it down his neck to settle on his chest. You locked your lips with his again and smiled against his lips when his arms tightened around your waist with unseen strength-pinning you to him. "I thought you'd be... disgusted by it." "We all have our stories, Stefano. You wear yours." You whispered, a smile finally crept back onto his face and he craned his neck once again as he kissed you. Your hands travelled to his chest and pushed inside his shirt- when your thumbs ran over the scar there, Stefano broke the kiss once again and looked up at you. "I'm sorry..." With a shake of his head, he smiled and began to undo the buttons on his shirt. "I want you to see all of me. As I am." Stefano said in a low voice. When all the buttons on his shirt were open, he pulled the white fabric back and removed the shirt, placing it on the couch beside him. He took a deep breath when your hands touched the warm skin, feeling the many bumps and scars along his skin. His eyes closed as you ran a finger down the large scar in the centre of his chest, a deep exhale came from his nose as his head fell back. "You don't find me... hideous?" You smiled a little as you looked at him, his eyes remained closed until you pressed a kiss to the large scar. "I could never find you hideous, Stefano." You replied, his eyes opened and he looked at you in shock, making you smile. Before you could speak, his hands moved from your waist to your neck, his fingers combed your hair back as he forcefully kissed you, causing you to groan in surprise. Quickly, Stefano rolled you so you were laid on your back on the couch-one knee settled between your legs, holding them open as his hands ran across your stomach. You gasped when his lips pressed to the side of your neck, kissing along the vein below your skin. As he kissed down, his hands travelled to the bottom of your shirt and lifted it over your head, dropping it behind the couch. The leather gloves were cold against your heated skin, causing you to flinch a little as he ran them across your stomach. With a chuckle, he raised his left hand to his mouth, bit one of the fingers and removed the glove, doing the same with the other. Stefano's hands were soft and warm, causing you to exhale and smile as you looked up at him. His eye seemed to be glowing as he looked down at you as his hands travelled down to your crotch, applying pressure and smirking darkly when you moaned. "What would your fiance say? If he knew you were here, doing this with another man?" He asked, applying more pressure with his hand as the other began to undo his own trousers. With another moan, your hands held onto his waist and you arched your hips up as he brought your jeans down your legs. You laughed as Stefano raised your left leg and placed it on his shoulder, kissing from your ankle to the inside of your leg slowly and dramatically. Stefano sat back once again and moved you into his lap before standing up, supporting you with his hands hooked beneath your backside as your legs wrapped around his waist with your arms around his neck. He laid you down on the bed gently, disappearing for a moment before he came back and set a packet down beside him. When he kissed you again, you wrapped your legs a round his waist once again when his trousers had been removed forgotten on the floor of the room. You heard rustling as the packet was opened and Stefano pressed another kiss to your lips as he lined his hips and pushed forwards. At first, you gasped in pain and your fingers dug into his arms-he continued to press small kisses to your forehead, cheeks and nose as he slowly moved his hips, giving you time to get used to the feeling. Stefano sat back, hooked his arms under your legs and lifted them slightly, humming deeply as he picked up the pace. A sly smirk was on his lips as he looked down at you, enjoying the sounds you were making. "Beautiful, simply beautiful. Like a perfectly planned photograph." You opened your eyes and looked up at him, laughing breathlessly as you smiled. Stefano pressed a kiss to the inside of your knee, resting his cheek against it as his hips sped up again. Your fingers gripped tightly onto the sheets below you and you moved your head to the side, moaning loudly-forgetting there was somebody else in the building. Seemingly liking this reaction, Stefano growled deeply before violently slamming his hips into yours-your back arched from the bed and your eyes widened as you moaned loudly once again. Stefano laughed darkly as he rolled his hips again, slowly and harshly. "That voice. Like an angel." ~~~ When your eyes opened, you groaned at the bright light that was shining through the windows. Looking around the room, you saw Stefano wasn't there and only your clothes were on the floor. You stood from the bed, wrapped the sheet around your body and walked to the window, raising an eyebrow when you saw more of those things walking in the street below. Something caught your eye on the table beside you, you smiled whnn you saw a single red rose siting in a vase with a letter sitting beside it. 'My dear, I am afraid I had to leave to run some errands. I will be gone all day, feel free to explore the building to your hearts content. Also, I have left a new dress on the closet door for you.' You turned to look behind you and smiled when you saw a purple dress with a black lace pattern hanging on the back of the closet door. You pulled it over your head and smiled at your reflection in the mirror- it was a perfect fit. How did Stefano find it so quickly? With a sigh, you left the room and walked down the stairs, wondering what you should do that day.


	5. Chapter 5

"Why was she in her car? I don't understand it...at that time of night. It just doesn't make sense." A woman said, followed by a deep sigh.

"I don't know... Only she can tell us that." A man replied, the same rough hand settled on top of your own, whilst a soft, cool hand settled on your other arm.

"Yes, and she will when she wakes up." A different man said, this man sounded angry and suspicios. The rough hand left yours and in the distance you heard a door open before slamming shut once again. The man still in the room sighed deeply as the woman began to cry.

~~~

You stood with your back to the wall, clutching a gun to your chest you found in a draw in one of the rooms- it wasn't the same one you had the last time you held a gun, this one was heavier and a little bigger but still a handgun. You heard a loud bang, like a door being kicked open, somewhere in the building and you knew it wasn't Stefano. He always entered the building silently and the only sound you ever heard was his boot heels. "I know you're here! Show yourself!" You heard a deep, male voice shout- it echoed through the whole building and made you jump. Who was it? It couldn't have been one of those things outside, as far as you knew the couldn't speak. As you stood against the wall, you heard footsteps coming down the hall towards you. When they grew closer to the corner, you stepped out, held the gun in front of you and pointed it at the man standing in front of you. He held a handgun, pointing it at you in return, as he looked you up and down with a raised eyebrow. "Who are you?" You asked, your hands shaking slightly as you held the gun. The man looked you in the eyes and, to your surprise, started to laugh. "What's so funny?" "He's sent someone else? He's cowering somewhere in here, isn't he?" The man asked you, lowering his gun and placing it back into the holster. You watched him with an eyebrow raised as he ran a hand through his brown shaggy hair, looking around as he sighed deeply. "I'm getting real tired of his bullshit, does he know this? I'm sick of all the running, all the games!" When the man looked at you again, you moved the gun down and held it to your side. "So who are you? His girlfriend or something? His wife?" "No! I... I don't have to explain anything to you. Who are you, anyway?" You asked, the man sighed deeply and nodded. "Sebastian. Sebastian Castellanos. This... fucker... has my little girl. He's been leading me on this wild goose chase all around Union." He told you, you shook your head as he told you this. "Stefano? No... you've got the wrong person. He wouldn't do something like that. He's not like that." You told him, feeling anger grow in your chest when he laughed once again. "Stefano is not like that. He wouldn't put anyone in danger! He saved me, you hear? I arrived here, God knows how, and he saved me from a... thing out there. I'm sorry to hear about your daughter, but Stefano does not have her." Sebastian seemed to be growing angry, he groaned loudly and shook his head. "I know the Son of a Bitch has her. He's been dangling it in front of my face, now he's brought me here!" Sebastian shouted, causing you to raise the gun once again. When he raised his to you, a blue mist appeared in front of you. You shielded your eyes from the bright light and looked away. "You motherfu-" Just then, you heard a camera clicking, followed by an odd noise. "Figlio di puttana." You heard a deep voice mutter, a warmth surrounded you and you let out a deep breath. "Are you okay?" Stefano asked, placing his hands on your arms. You opened your eyes and gasped when you looked behind Stefano, seeing Sebastian frozen in a blue cube, not moving. "(name), answer me." "I... I'm fine. What did you do?" You asked, he turned to look at the man in the cube before turning to look back at you again. "Stefano...who is he? What's going on?" Stefano sighed deeply and held you tightly to his chest, you dropped the gun to the floor and hesitantly put your hands on his back. When Stefano took a step back, he pressed a kiss to your lips and hummed as a hand ran through your hair. When he felt you hesitantly kissing him back, he took a step back and looked into your eyes. His eye narrowed as he looked at you, moving his hands to your shoulders as he bent his back ever so slightly, so that his eye was at the same level as your own. You nervously looked away, but Stefano moved his head so his eye locked with yours again. "What did he say to you?" He asked, you looked at Sebastian, wondering what that box was he was stuck in, if he could hear your or move. You gasped when Stefano shook you, causing you to look at him again. His eye was now widened slightly and something that looked like anger was slowly creeping onto his face. "What did he say?!" He shouted, causing you to jump. You shook a little in fear, the colour draining from your face as you looked at the man, suddenly not recognising him. "Nothing. Just... something about his daughter..." You told him, Stefano's hands dropped from your arms and he looked at you with an intense stare- making you feel uncomfortable. He turned around and walked towards the man again, bringing a knife from his pocket. Your eyes widened when you saw this and held out a hand as Stefano walked further away from you. "Stefano..." His grip tightened around the handle of the knife, you hesitantly took a step forward and placed a hand on his shoulder. You felt the muscles in his back tense when your hands touched him. When he turned and looked at you over his shoulder, he sighed deeply and placed the knife back in his pocket. You could feel a tense feeling coming from him and you took a step back- Stefano stayed where he was. Suddenly, a thought came to your head and, with a small smile, you walked forwards and put your hands on his waist, following the ever so slight curve of his hips. "Stefano, why don't you come upstairs? Leave him. Please. We can..." You gasped when he shook your hands from him, he turned to look at you over his shoulder with a narrowed eye. "Go and wait upstairs. I will be back later." Stefano said to you, after waiting for a moment, you nodded and brought your hand away from Stefano, walking away from the two men and making your way back to your room. ~~~ It had grown dark outside, the noises from the things on the street had grown louder and you felt unsafe in the building alone. You couldn't hear the woman upstairs and you hadn't heard Stefano return home that afternoon. You didn't know what happened to Stefano and Sebastian, you hadn't left your room since you last saw him. You let out a small scream when you heard a loud crack of thunder, followed by a thud from upstairs and a groan. You stood from the bed, opened the door and waited to hear another sound. "(n-name)..." You heard Stefano whisper before you heard another thud. You quickly walked to the bottom of the stairs and looked up, gasping when you saw Stefano crawling to the edge. His hands gripped onto the bannister and he groaned as he pulled himself to his feet, staggering as he walked down one of the steps before falling to his knees. You quickly ran to him, hooked one arm around his waist and put the other around your shoulder as you helped him to his feet. "Thank you, darling." Stefano groaned as he stood and slowly started to walk down the stairs with you, one hand remained on his stomach and a trail of blood followed you down the stairs. You took him to your room and gently sat him down on the bed before you fetched a bowl of water, some cloth, a needle and thread. When you got back to the room, Stefano had removed his jacket and shirt and was standing by the window, looking at the street below. You placed the objects down on the bed and stood behind him, concerned by the amount of blood you saw coming from his wound. "Look at that. So much art to be made, but everything I try on them turns out... ugly." Stefano wasn't making any sense to you, you walked behind him and when Stefano turned to look at you, you felt relief that he didn't have the same cold look in his eye as before. He turned to look back out of the window. "Stefano, what happened?" You asked, placing your hands on his bare back. He let out a deep breath and rolled is neck to the side, groaning in pain. He turned to look at you again, his face was pale and he was sweating. When he turned and faced you fully, you reached your hand up and moved his fringe from his face, smiling when you saw the damaged, scarred skin. Stefano smiled gently to you, bringing a sense of comfort to you. "I'm sorry. For how I spoke to you earlier. For how I behaved. Please, forgive me?" Stefano asked,taking one of your hands in yours and pressing it to his lips before he rested it against his cheek and closed his eyes. He inhaled deeply through his nose and opened his eyes as he exhaled,a smile spread across his face as he looked at you. "Your hands are such sweet objects. Like delicate marble sculptures." Just then, his face creased in pain and he groaned deeply, his free hand moving to his stomach once again. You took it away and gasped when you saw a large knife wound bleeding heavily. "Oh my god...come on,sit down." You said, leading him to the bed. He slowly sat down and groaned deeply once again, gritting his teeth through the pain when you ran the damp cloth across the wound. "Sorry. Stefano, what the hell happened?" You looked up at the man as you knelt in front of him, cleaning the deep wound as blood continued to rise to the surface. "That...philistine...didn't appreciate my art. We had a bit of a disagreement, that is all. He has gone on his way and I shall go on mine." Stefano told you, inhaling deeply once again. You knew he wasn't telling you the whole truth but you didn't want to pressure him when he was in this state. You silently nodded and threaded the cotton through the needle, apologising to him as you began to sew the wound. Stefano coped well with the pain, which you told him. He laughed a little and nodded. "I've been through enough procedures of being stitched and patched up. One more won't hurt." You smiled a little as you continued sewing the wound until it was fully closed. "Thank you, sweet. That's much better." Stefano helped you to your feet, kissed your cheek and then pressed another kiss to your cheek,wrapping his arms around your waist and pulling you to his chest tightly. When Stefano's hands trailed to your rear, you leant back and smiled to him. "You need to rest. You're in a bad way, Stefano..." When he started to kiss your neck, your eyes closed and you moaned quietly. "You need to... Stefano..." You laughed a little as Stefano walked you backwards until you were against a wall, his hands lifted your thighs and you wrapped your legs around his waist, pulling his hips to meet yours. When he moved his lips from your neck, he smiled to you when you once again brushed his fringe from his eye. "You really like to look at my scar that much?" He asked, you nodded with a smile. "But... why? It's so.... unsightly, so ugly. So..." Stefano moved a hand to his eye and felt the scar tissue, his face sank as his fingers felt the bumped skin. You put your hand over his, wrapped your fingers around his wrist, moved his hand towards yours and smirked as you bit the tip of one of his glove fingers, pulling your head back until it dropped to the floor. Stefano watched with a slightly widened eye, his eyebrows raised with an expression on his face that was pure arousal. When his hand was bare, you kissed the tip of his finger before taking it in your mouth, hearing him groan as he watched you. Suddenly, there was a loud crash from upstairs, followed by the loud sound of a woman moaning in pleasure. You turned to look at the door with widened eyes, however Stefano sighed, brought his hand away and settled you gently on the floor. "What... who was that?" You asked, watching Stefano as he walked to the door, opened it and looked up. "What are you complaining about? Calm down!" He shouted, crossing his arms across his chest. You walked to stand behind him, however you couldn't see who he was talking to. When the moaning sounded again, Stefano sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose with his index finger and thumb. "Alright, alright! Calm down!" Stefano turned to look at you, rolled his eyes and held out his hand to you. "Excuse me, darling, but we will have to continue this later. Someone wants to meet you."


End file.
